Intuition
by LeoLovesAries
Summary: Following deleted scene from Six of One. Athena confronts Helo about Starbuck's return and the visions she shares with Laura Roslin.


IMPORTANT notice to followers of my fic ALPHA STATION: The fic was updated as of 5/5/17 with chapter 31. There was/is an unfortunate glitch happening on this site. It was/is stopping users from getting update email alerts to their followed fics. Because of that I took the latest Alpha Station chapter down until it seemed to be fixed. CH 31 is back as of 5/10/17. If you did not get an update email I'm sorry. Please let me know and please e-mail SUPPORT at fanfiction dot com and let them know this bug is bothering you. I'm so sorry for the chapter gap with that fic. The following was used as an exercise to help get me back in the writing groove.

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Authors Note:  
Hi everyone. This is just a short little drabble I wrote after a Maelstrom through Six of One rewatch. I watched some deleted scenes that I had never seen before and was blown away that they were cut out. I guess they needed to make time for more of Lee whining and wearing v neck sweaters. All of these scenes went to further delving into the Sharon/Roslin/Six/ Hera connection. So sad that they were cut but thought I would use this Helo/ Athena one shot to fill in the gaps and make my headcanon happy.

Since this is drabble follows a portion of BSG which was deleted I will try and set the scene for those who never saw the clip.

During Six of One Kara visits Sharon in her quarters. Helo is not home. Sharon is playing with Hera on the floor. Starbuck who has recently returned and is under suspicion stands by the open hatch complaining about how Roslin doesn't believe that she isn't a cylon or a cylon trick. She voices her anger over the president's mistrust and how she feels it is affecting the Admiral's opinion. Sharon listens but in the end tells Kara that she agrees with Roslin. She tells Kara that she knows how deceitful her own cylon people can be. She goes on to tell Kara that if she cares about Helo she will stay away from him. She then warns her to stay far away from Hera and makes a vague threat as to what she would do if Kara came near the child again. It can be found on the US version of the DVD set.

The following scene would be after Kara is gone and Helo returns home.

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Intuition

"I want you to drink some water, Hera," Sharon told her daughter as she helped her tilt the stout little cup to her lips. "That's my good girl."

The child drank as she was told washing down the meager meal that her mother had just spooned into her mouth. When she heard the familiar screech of the hatch door her eyes went toward the sound. Her lips parted from the cup and she dribbled through her smile as her father stepped inside.

"There are the two most beautiful ladies in the fleet," Helo greeted with a tired yet cheerful smile.

Hera shrieked with delight and reached for him. He walked toward their modest table and leaned down to kiss the dark curls that topped his daughter's head. She babbled a string of unidentifiable words along with a few Dadas mixed in. She was overjoyed to see him as always yet Sharon sat beside her stoic and contemplative. Helo noticed his wife's mood right away. Guessing that it was probably due to a difficult toddler feeding session he overlooked it.

He bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek hoping that it would brighten her demeanor.

"Hey," He said with a peck and a smile.

"There's food left if you want any," She offered without much change to her temperament.

"Na. I just stopped in to say hi and change my tanks. I have to go back in."

"Why?" Sharon quizzed with some frustration to her voice. "I thought Tigh was back."

"He is. He is but it's been a little while since he ran things on his own. The Old Man wants me around. Says he needs me there more than he does in a bird right now."

Sharon gave half a shrug and stood. She began to clear Hera's plate all the while avoiding eye contact with her husband.

"Something wrong?" Helo finally asked with a scowl as he went to their dresser.

He pulled out a set of tanks and threw them on the bed. He watched Sharon replace Hera's plate with a picture book and a few toys as he unbuckled his tunic and slid it off.

"Sharon?" He prompted when she didn't answer.

"Kara came to visit today," She said without looking at him.

Helo paused for a moment. What was Kara up to now? She had been acting so erratic. He'd told her to focus. He'd almost begged her. He'd told her to buckle down and find the star system she claimed she'd seen so that she could prove everyone wrong but she wouldn't listen. He'd known Kara a long time. She always held anger within her but now that she'd returned it all seemed to be bubbling at the surface threatening to spill over at anyone who dared to stir the pot. He wondered why she would have ventured to his home in the middle of the day. From the way Sharon was acting he knew the meeting couldn't have gone much better than any of Kara's recent interactions.

"She did?" He said casually continuing to remove his tanks and toss them aside.

"Mmhm," Sharon answered curtly as she took her seat again at the table.

"And?"

He leaned over he bed to grab the fresh set of tanks and began pulling them over his head.

"And I told her to leave and not come back," Sharon nearly spat.

Helo's brow lowered at harshness of his wife's words. He tugged his tanks over his shoulders and adjusted them before looking over at her. Her expression had hardened. Her mouth was set in a thin line as she stared back at him unblinking.

"Why would you do that, Sharon?"

"Because, Helo, I don't want her here. And I sure as hell don't want her around my baby."

Sharon pushed a few little toys toward Hera that the toddler had inadvertently shoved out of reach. The girl giggled in thanks and Sharon forced herself to smile back. The pleasant grin faded as soon as her husband spoke again.

"C'mon, Sharon. You can't possibly think that…"

"That she's a cylon?" She abruptly finished for him. "I don't know Helo. That's the damn point. And you don't know either so before you start defending her to me remember that."

Helo shook his head.

"I know that this all seems crazy but I'm telling you, I've known Starbuck a long time. That's her alright."

Sharon's brow rose. She offered Hera her cup again only to have her shove it away.

"You believe that if you want, Helo, but remember that you have a family to protect."

"Protect from what?" He challenged. "Sharon, did Kara _do_ or _say_ something that scared you? I mean she didn't come here threatening you did she?"

"No. She came looking for allies. She didn't find one, I'll tell you that."

Helo huffed and began to scratch at his forehead with his thumb.

"I think everyone's a little suspicious right now, Sharon but I have to say I think you're overreacting."

" _By protecting my child?_ "

He shrugged at her defensive tone.

"What do you think Kara would ever do to her?"

" _If_ it is, Kara," She firmly reminded him, careful to watch her temper around the little girl. "And she's threatening Hera's future. I can say that much for sure. Whoever or whatever she is, she's trying to throw us off the track to Earth, the one that Roslin's visions lead us to."

"She says she's _seen_ the planet,"Helo continued to defend. "She's adamant. Maybe she did."

"She comes out of nowhere and suddenly you believe her?"

"I'm not saying that, Sharon. _Gods_. I'm saying that _I'm_ willing to give her the chance to share her story."

Helo frowned when she rolled her eyes and looked away. "Anyway, since when are you so dedicated to Roslin's theory?"

Sharon quickly gave him her eyes once again.

"Everything the president has said, every vision she's had, goes along with the ancient prophecies, Helo. There is nothing in Pythia or anywhere else that tells of a crazed fighter pilot coming back from the dead to save humanity. I trust Roslin's word over a that maniac's any day."

Helo grimaced. He understood that his wife was suspicious of Starbuck's story. Most in the fleet were but something about her sudden presidential favor rubbed him the wrong way.

"You fought with Starbuck," He attempted to appeal. "You know her. She helped us off of Caprica when no one else would have. You're telling me that you won't even give her a chance to tell us what she thinks she knows? Yet you're suddenly so eager to put your faith in Laura Roslin; the woman who stole our child, made our lives hell for over a year."

"Yes."

"Why?" He scowled.

Sharon shrugged.

"Because I know she's right. I feel it."

Helo crossed his arms over his broad chest and narrowed his eyes.

"How?"

"Intuition."

Her answer made him smirk.

"That's funny," He said with a snort. "That's just what Kara said about Earth."

Sharon sighed and gave him another roll of her eyes. She wasn't interesting in anything Kara had to say.

"It's more than that," She told him with firm insistence.

Helo's smug smile left his face.

"I don't get it, Sharon," He said at a loss dropping his arms to his sides.

Sharon huffed and looked down at the table. She drummed her fingers on its surface as she sat in thought listening to her child hum a little song as she played.

"I have no idea if that's Kara or not," She started as she glanced up toward her husband. "Even if it is I have no reason to believe her insane story. But I _know_ that Laura Roslin wants to get the fleet to Earth. I _know_ that she'd do anything to make sure Hera got there safe."

Helo's jaw went slack and his forehead creased. He was more confused than ever at her train of thought.

"Sharon what the hell are you talking about? She stole her from us," He added in an emphatic whisper as he pointed to their daughter. "Look I'm not doubting that the president wants us to get to Earth but why are you putting so much trust in her when it comes to our child?"

"Because," Sharon answered without skipping a beat. "She loves her, Helo."

" _What?"_ He instantly balked _._ "Sharon, I can't believe what I'm hearing."

Sharon shrugged and leaned forward in her chair. She knew that her claims had to be throwing him off but she wasn't sure an explanation would leave him any less perplexed.

"Karl, what the president did was disgusting," She started. "I hate her for it. I'll never stop wanting to wring her neck for it but I have to acknowledge that she cares for Hera."

Helo puffed some air through his nose.

"If she cared for her she wouldn't have taken her from us and given her away."

Sharon drew in her bottom lip and chewed it for a moment.

"Helo, from the accounts that I've gotten she gave her to a loving mother and then she kept them both close to her on New Caprica. Apparently she lived just in the next tent over. She had the baby at her school every single day."

"Sharon, what's this have to do with anything?" Helo contested. "So what?"

"So I think Roslin spent more time with Hera than we understand." Sharon paused and looked toward the little girl. "I think she took care of her, babysat her, helped out whenever she could. I think she was watching over her."

"That's a lot to assume, Sharon."

"I'm not just assuming. I've asked around. Chief and Cally, they told me they use to see her now and then with a baby on her hip down at the street market. They said now that they thought about it that it had to have been Hera. I think she bonded with her, Karl and I think it was over more than just her gratitude over their shared blood."

Helo winced at the last word.

"When I had Hera in Sick Bay the other day Roslin was there seeing Cottle. I caught her staring at Hera a few times. At first it made me angry but then I watched her…and...I really think she misses her."

" _Misses_ her?"

Sharon gave a slight nod.

"I think she misses holding her and playing with her. I think she misses getting to love her back when she was Isis."

"She was _never_ Isis," Karl cut.

"And Roslin knew that. She was the only one. She was the only one who could see her for who she was for the first part of her life." Sharon could see that Helo was getting heated. She had to do a better job at explaining herself. Just as he was about to respond stopped him. "Look I'm not saying that what Roslin did to us wasn't horrible. I'm not saying that I forgive her. I'm just saying that I understand that she thought it was best for Hera."

" _Since when?!_ " Helo couldn't help but shout in frustration.

" _Shhh_ ," Sharon scolded gesturing toward the girl.

"Sorry," Helo said as he offered the oblivious child a quick smile. "But since when are you wasting your time over analyzing the depths of the president's feelings toward anything or anyone let alone our baby?"

Sharon bit her lip and closed her eyes. She had to tell him. He might not understand but she knew that he would always listen, always give her the benefit of the doubt. He offered that to everyone. It was the very part of his character that had him standing there defending crazy Kara Thrace back from the dead. She knew that once she explained he would at least be more accepting of her outlook.

"Helo…you know I've been having dreams, nightmares that seems like projections."

He swallowed and nodded. So many nights she'd woken up beside him screaming, broken out in a cold sweat. It was starting to worry him.

"Yeah."

Sharon looked to Hera. The child was involved in her upside down book not concerned in the least with the adults around her.

"What I didn't tell you is that the nightmares and dreams...well they aren't just mine," She confessed as she looked back at her husband.

Helo's head tilted in thought.

"What's that mean?"

"They aren't _just_ my dreams," Sharon reiterated. "I'm not the _only_ one having them. I share them…with Laura Roslin and the Six in the brig. The one they call Caprica."

Her admission was a shock. Helo wasn't even sure he'd heard her correctly.

"Sharon, I don't understand."

"Neither do we," She conceded, "But it's happening. It's real. I don't know how but it is. When Roslin dreams I dream and it's like we're both there. And now lately Caprica is there with us too."

Helo sat down on the side of their rack and rubbed at his eyes. He could hardly wrap his head around what she was telling him.

"You've talked to the president about this?"

"Yes," Sharon said with a nod. "We spoke to the Six too," She added. "Helo...in my dream we are in an old opera house. The one from Kobol the way it once was. I'm there and Hera is with me. She gets away from me. I don't know how but she does. She just slips out of my grasp. She starts running and I chase her all over, up and down stairs and through so many halls. I call her name again and again and then...then I start to hear another woman's voice calling her too. It's Laura Roslin. I see her from across the balcony and I just know that she's trying to find Hera too. We look at each other and I swear we can _feel_ one another's fear. I can _feel_ what she feels, Helo and I feel that she _loves_ Hera. She wants to find her, wants to bring her back to where it's safe. She wants to get to her just as badly as I do before something terrible happens. And I know she can sense my feelings too. I don't know how I know. I just do and because of that I know the depth of her belief. I see how key she truly is in all of his," Sharon continued with passion. "And...I know she's dying, Helo. She is the one the prophecy told would bring the people to Earth just as she's claimed this whole time. She's the dying leader. I know her intentions, I know where she fits in."

Helo shook his head as if he were trying to clear away the fog.

"The Six. What about her?" He asked pinching at the bridge of his nose. "Where does she come in."

"Laura and I see Hera running toward a door. We try and catch up to her but neither of us can. The Six is waiting for her there. Hera goes right to her. The Six picks her up and starts to walk toward the exit. They start to walk away and I just know something awful is going to happen. The thing is, in the same way I know that Roslin wants to protect Hera I can feel what Caprica wants too. I can feel that she wants what's best for her as well. The thing is I just can't trust what _she_ might consider that to be. I don't know where she's taking her or why. I just know I have to stop her."

Helo's face went suddenly pale at the description.

"So...so what's all this mean?"

Sharon sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"This Kara, if it is her, whoever she is and whatever she claims to know...I know nothing about it. So when it comes down to it I'll follow Roslin's lead. If she says Kara isn't to be trusted then I believe her. I don't trust Starbuck, Karl and there's no way she's allowed near my child."

Helo stood from the bed and began to pace.

"That's…that's all really hard to absorb, Sharon," He said as he stopped in his tracks. "When were you going to tell me that was happening?"

"I'm telling you now," She offered.

Helo rubbed at his chin with the back of his hand.

"You said the president is dying…but the Admiral says she's getting treatment. He says he's sure she's gunna beat her cancer this time."

"I know it, Helo. I can feel it every time I look at her. She's dying. He's wrong."

A crease appeared between Helos brows as he thought of the woman's fate.

"Why would you two be sharing dreams?"

"I don't know," Sharon admitted. "To be honest they feel more like projections but involuntary ones. I'm not sure why Roslin would be able to share something like that with me but I think it might have to do with Hera. Hera has my blood and Roslin has hers. Maybe there is something to it," She considered.

"Then why the Six?"

"I don't know."

"Well what's the connection there?"

Sharon shrugged. There was so much she didn't understand about what was happening. The little that she could comprehend didn't come from fact. It gave from instinct. It came from emotion. It came from her gut.

"In a way Caprica's my sister I suppose. At least that's what we're programed to think. I don't know what to tell you, Karl. Something had bound me and Hera to Laura Roslin and the Six too. I just know that I can't deny the connection. It's there whether I like it or not."

Helo let out a long breath and looked to the floor.

"I wish you would have told me sooner."

For a moment they were quiet with only their daughters hums to fill the air.

"You know sometimes I think Hera is asking for her," Sharon finally said.

Helo looked toward the girl and furrowed his brow.

"For who?"

"For Roslin."

"Huh?"

"Once in a while she babbles something that sounds like Laura. I bet you'd notice it if you knew what to listen for," She posed but Helo seemed skeptical. "I wasn't sure but then she saw the president in Sick Bay and she started saying it over and over. The president heard her at one point. I looked over and saw the look on her face. I thought she was going to cry. Eventually Cottle put her in a bed a across the clinic where Hera couldn't see her so she stopped. I think she was calling for Laura. I think she remembers when she used to take care of her."

"La la," Hera sang as she turned the pages of her book.

"She's still is taking care of her, Helo. In some way Laura Roslin trying to take care of all of us."

"La la," Hera repeated.

"I don't like the woman but I trust her," Sharon continued with confidence. "I trust her to find my daughter a home. If she says Starbuck's claim is bunk then it's a no for me too. If she thinks that she could be dangerous then I back her up. That's that. So yes, I trust a woman who once stole our child over someone who is supposed to be a friend. I know it might not make sense to you but to me, my feelings are clear."

Helo looked to his daughter and let his shoulders slump.

"Alright," He said sounding half confused and half defeated.

"Look, Karl. If the Old Man comes to us and says that _he_ believes Kara and he orders me to follow her to God knows where, then I will, same as you because I made a promise. But I won't do it based on the fact that she's supposed to be your buddy. I can't."

Helo nodded.

"I won't ask you to."

"Ooops, there you go sweetie," Sharon smiled, picking up a fallen toy and placing back in front of Hera.

"I've gotta go," Helo said as he grabbed his tunic and slid it back on.

Sharon continued to grin and play with the little girl as her husband buckled up his uniform.

He came over to where they sat and bent down to kiss them each atop the head.

"I'll be home late," He said heading for the door.

"Be careful, Helo," She warned, her eyes still on Hera as she patted at her book.

Helo nodded and left.

As Sharon watched her daughter play she wondered if the girl did in fact remember Laura Roslin. Hera was a special child but she was still so young. She wondered how much she could possibly recall of her. She wondered if the other woman had ever rocked her child to sleep or fed her a bottle to stop her from crying. The images made her both angry and grateful at the same time. She hated knowing all that she'd missed of Hera's first year. She hated how it was taken from her and how she'd never get it back but knowing that her daughter was loved and doted on was better than wondering if she'd been scared or lonely without her. Sharon knew that wasn't the case. She thought of the way Roslin had looked at her daughter in Sick Bay, she thought of the way she went after the girl so fiercely in the ethereal opera house. She had told Helo that she believed the woman loved their child and she meant it. She considered that perhaps once Hera had loved her in return.

Sharon knew that there was a possibility that Hera was as conscious of the dreams as they were. Would she remember them as she got older? Or would they fade away in the night with so many other dreams? What would Hera think of when she thought back to her childhood? Would she remember the woman with the long red hair who held her on the cold planet? Would she recall the leader who guided her people to a new home? Or would she forget; the memory fading little by little as time went on. Sharon knew that Hera was probably too young to retain much. Laura would be gone soon and unless she and Helo actively reminded the girl she would lose all recollection of her. Sharon wasn't sure that she had it in her to keep the memory alive. There was too much anger and resentment that came with it. She knew one thing for sure; their connection would never fade. It would outlast memory and and it would outlast death. It was beyond their understanding, beyond their blood and beyond their control. It wasn't a fact but a feeling; something Sharon knew in her soul and heart, a promise centered around protection, guidance and love. All of it based on nothing but shared intuition.

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Thanks for reading. If you have the time please let me know what you thought.  
LLA


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